Shipboard gantry crane and hoist mechanism therefor



Sept. 16, 1969 R. AUZINS ET AL SHIPBOARD GANTRY CRANE AND HOISTMECHANISM THEREFOR 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec.

l l l I ll lllilllll INVENTORS. RAIMUNDS 'AUZINS a STEPHEN BJENDRICH,JR.

Sm, J/mdaam 8 Gem Bar/3 ATTORNEYS Sept. 16, 1969 uzms ETAL SHIPBOARDGANTRY CRANE AND HOIST MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed D90. 7, 1967 '7Sheets-Sheet 5 Fl G.4

INVENTORS.

18h, JR, 3441664. 4. m a @414 ATTORNEYS Sept. 16, 1969 R. AUZINS ETAL3,467,263

SHIPBOARD GANTRY CRANE AND HOIST MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed Dec. 7, 1987 7Sheets-Sheet .4

INVENTORS. FIG.- 5 RAiMUNDS AUZINS a STEPHEN P. YENDRlCH, JR.

BY BM, 5%,

JW 8 @am ATTORNEYS Sept. 16, 1969 uzms ETAL SHIPBQARD GANTRY CRANE ANDHOIST MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed D80. 7, 1967 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS.RAIMUNDS AUZINS a STEPHEN P. YENDRIC H, JR

Judd/1on8 6am ATTORNEYS Sept. 16, 1969 R. AUZINS ETA!- 3,467,253

SHIPBOARD GANTRY CRANE AND HOIST MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed Dec. 7 1967 7Sheets-Sheet 6 F I G.- 9

INVENTORS.

RAIMUNDS AUZINS 8| STEPHEN P YENDRICH, JR.

Dir/3044410414, 5mm, J/mdham 8 ain ATTORNEYS Sept. 16, 1969 R. AUZINSETAL SHIPBOARD GANTRY CRANE AND HOIST MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed Dec. 7,1967 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 F a-u FlG.- I2

INVENTORS. RAIMUNDS AUZINS 8 STEPHEN F. YENDRICH, JR.

BY SW,

almzm ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,467,263 SHIPBOARD GANTRY CRANEAND HOIST MECHANISM THEREFOR Rnimunds Auzins, Canton, and Stephen P.Yendrich, Jr.,

Beloit, Ohio, assignors to Morgan Engineering Company, Alliance, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Filed Dec. 7, 1967, Ser. No. 688,815 Int. Cl. B63b27/00 US. Cl. 214-15 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosurepresents a single girder, low-profile shipboard gantry crane fortransferring cargo between a dock and a ship. The crane travels onspaced parallel rails located on opposite sides of the ship parallel tothe ships longitudinal centerline, and has a cargo handling span orreach formed by a single transverse main girder and at least one hingedoutboard cantilever or jib which can be swung upward to a horizontalposition over a dock, in end-to-end alignment with the main girder andwhich, when folded down along side the gantry leg, can be used to helpsecure the crane to the ships deck structure while the ship is underway.A side running trolley car with a turntable is supported in cantileverfashion at the side of either the single main girder or outboard jib.

Background of the invention This invention relates to gantry cranes andhoist mechanisms therefor, and especially to traveling type shipboardgantry cranes having one or two outboard cantilevers or jibs for use inhandling cargo such as shipping containers between a dock or barge and acargo hold during loading and unloading. More particularly the inventionrelates to a single girder type shipboard gantry crane having atraveling trolley car which carries a turntable and hoist equipment forlifting and lowering the cargo container.

The use of containerized cargo has received widespread acceptance by theshipping industry in recent years and has led to the design of new typesof ships and also to the use of bridge-type traveling gantry cranescarried aboard the ship for loading and unloading thecontainers. Suchcranes have been found to be capable of faster, more efficient operationwhen used in connection with containerized shipping. Generally thecranes travel on rails located on opposite sides of the deck parallel tothe ships longitudinal centerline so that the gantry legs span the cargohatches and the traveling car carried by the transverse bridge of thecrane can be positioned to load and unload the cargo containers to andfrom the cargo holds with its associated hoist equipment. The height ofthe crane is sufficient to enable the transverse bridge and hoistequipment to clear any obstructions on the deck.

Even more recently ships have been designed to carry both cargo bargesand shipping containers. These ships are preferably provided with twogantry cranes, one for handling barges and the other for handling thecontainers. Both cranes are adapted for travel on the same spacedparallel rails (see e.g. US. Patent No. 3,273,527 to Goldman and US.Patent application Ser. No. 572,052), now Patent No. 3,390,657.

3,467,263 Patented Sept. 16, 1969 Traveling gantry cranes which arecarried on board ship for handling shipping containers generally haveneed for at least one outboard extension or jib, and usually two (one ateach side) in order to transfer cargo between the ship and a dock orbarge when the ship is in port. However, when the ship is underway, theoutboard extension must either be folded downward alongside one of thegantry legs (see e.g. US. Patent No. 3,042,227, to Tantlinger) orretracted inward between the gantry legs (see e.g. US. Patents No.3,204,780, to Holt et al.; No. 3,077,992 to Bevard, and No. 3,130,840 toMyers et al.) in order to secure the crane during the operation of theship while underway, particularly in heavy seas.

Usually such cranes are provided with hinged extensions or jibs whichmay be pivoted between a raised upright position and a lowered or foldedposition adjacent the gantry leg as shown in Tantlinger. Cranes of thistype are frequently used in port facilities as well as on ships forloading and unloading various types of cargo with the hinged extensionbeing adapted for location transversely over a docked ship or vice versawhen the crane is located on the ship. The extension or jib in the caseof land based cranes must be capable of being swung upward out of itshorizontal operating position in order to provide clearance for mastsand other ship superstructure when the ship is moving to and from itsloading position at the dock.

One major problem encountered in connection with shipboard gantry cranesis that of having a relatively large mass located well above the deck ofthe ship. This makes the crane difiicult to secure for sea due to itshigh center of mass or more importantly its large radius of gyration.This also reduces the stability of the ship due to the increased heightof the ships center of gravity. Accordingly single girder type gantrycranes are preferable due to their reduced mass.

Most single girder gantry cranes utilize either a hoist carrying trolleyon top of the girder with rope falls on each side, or a suspended typetrolley which travels beneath the girder suspended below the trolleysrollers which ride for example on flanges at the bottom of the girder.The latter type is undesirable for shipboard use because the height ofthe girder above the ships deck must be sufiicient to accommodate thetrolley beneath it as well as the load being carried and obstructions onthe deck.

The top running trolley with rope falls on each side is not suitable forshipboard container cranes, because it is not possible for thecontainers to get past the gantry legs.

Another drawback of single girder type cranes of the above descriptionis that they generally do not provide sufficient clearance between thecargo load being carried and the gantry leg during movement of thetrolley from the outboard extension to the main girder which spans thecargo holds. Normally for this reason, cargo containers must be carriedby the crane with the longitudinal centerline of the cargo containerperpendicular to the ships longitudinal centerline. The need for thistype of loading and unloading seriously reduces the flexibility andversatility of the crane.

Another problem encountered is that of handling assymmetrically loadedcontainers or in other words containers loaded so that the center ofgravity is longitudinally displaced from the geometrical center. If thecenter of gravity is spaced outwardly relative to the point ofsuspension of the nearest hoist ropes, the container will tip in theropes until the center of gravity is vertically aligned with the nearestsuspension point. Where such tipping tilts the container very much fromits horizontal position, the loading and unloading operation cannot beproperly performed. For design purposes, loaded containers having acenter of gravity spaced longitudinally from the geometrical center asmuch as 20% of the length of the container (c.g., 8' for a 40'container) must be accommodated.

The gantry crane and hoist mechanism of the present invention howeversubstantially resolve the problems indicated above and provide otherfeatures and advantages not obtainable from the prior art.

Summary of the invention It is among the objects of the invention toprovide an improved means for securing a shipboard gantry crane to aships deck structure when the ship is underway.

Another object is to provide a means for turning cargo containersthrough at least 90 of arc while being carried by hoist ropes suspendedfrom a traveling trolley car on a single girder shipboard gantry craneand to restrict the twisting of a latch frame and cargo containercarried thereby when the latch frame and container are turned.

A further object is to prevent tipping of an asymmetrically loaded cargocontainer suspended by hoist ropes from a traveling trolley car.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention are accomplishedby a gantry crane construction adapted for use in connection with theships for carrying containerized cargo and having spaced rails onopposite sides thereof parallel to the ships longitudinal centerline onwhich the gantry legs can travel. The crane includes a bridge-typetransverse main girder supported by the gantry legs above the deck ofthe ship, at least one hinged outboard cantilever movable between afolded position adjacent a gantry leg where it is capable of beinglatched at its outer end to the deck structure, and an extendedhorizontal outboard position in end-to-end alignment with the maingirder. Rails or ways for the trolley car rollers are provided on boththe girder and cantilever. The trolley car supports a turntable whichcarries hoist equipment including rope falls which carry a latch frameattachable to a cargo container.

As another aspect of the invention, the rope falls are so connectedbetween the latch frame and the turntable structure that twisting of thelatch frame relative to the turntable is greatly restricted, andasymmetrical loading of the containers can be accommodated. This isaccomplished by an arrangement wherein the turntable serves to spreadthe hoist ropes outwardly from their point of connection to the ropedrums and wherein the hoist ropes connected at each suspension point onthe latch frame are reeved so as to have nonparallel passes between theturntable and latch frame, thus providing a triangulation typesuspension wherein tension forces are nonparallel to one another in thelengths of rope terminating at the same point of load application.

Other objects, uses and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the following detailed description and drawings wherein like partsare indicated by like numerals.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of afolding jib type single girder shipboard gantry crane embodying theinvention wherein the left hand folding cantilever is shown in itsextended horizontal position over a dock in solid lines and in itsfolded position indash lines and wherein the right hand foldingcantilever is shown in its folded position in solid lines and itsextended horizontal position in dash lines;

FIGURE 2 is a partial plan view of the gantry crane of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale taken onthe line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an end elevational view of the gantry crane of FIGURE 1 witha container shown with its axis aligned perpendicular to the centerlineof the ship in solid lines and with its axis aligned parallel to thecenterline of the ship in dash lines;

FIGURE 5 is an end elevational view on an enlarged scale showing thetraveling car and hoist mechanism located on the main girder of thegantry crane as shown in dash lines in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the traveling car onthe single main girder as in FIG- URE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary plan view showing the traveling car as inFIGURES 5 and 6;

FIGURE 8 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 88 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 9 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 99 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 10 is a cross sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on theline 10-10 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary cross sectional view on an enlarged scaleshowing the traveling gear and drive mechanism for the side runningtrolley car; and

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the traveling gearand drive mechanism of the trolley car drawn to the same scale as FIGURE11.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring more particularly tothe drawings and initially to FIGURES l, 2 and 3, there is shown agantry crane A embodying the invention and located for travel on spacedrails extending longitudinally along opposite sides of a ships deck. Thecrane A serves to transfer cargo containers B and the like between thecargo hold of the ship C and a dock or barge during loading andunloading when the ship is in port, the crane being of sufficient sizeto span the cargo hatches D through which the cargo containers B may belowered into the hold.

General construction The gantry crane A generally comprises spacedgantry legs E which ride along the deck of the ship C on travelingcarriages or trucks to be described below. A single main girder Fextends transversely of the ship between the legs E to span the cargohatches D and folding outboard cantilevers or jibs G are located onopposite sides of the main girder F to extend the reach of the crane Aover a dock when the ship is in port. The outboard cantilevers G areeach movable independently between a downwardly extending foldedposition adjacent a gantry leg E and a horizontally extended position inend-to-end alignment with the main girder F. As viewed in FIGURE 1 theleft hand outboard cantilever G is shown in its extended position insolid lines and in its folded position in dash lines whereas the righthand jib G is shown in its folded position in solid lines and in itsextended position in dash lines. The main girder F and cantilevers G areof plate and torsion box construction according to current practice. Aside running trolley car H runs along the span defined by the girder Fand extended cantilevers G in a manner to be described below.

The gantry legs E are also of plate and torsion box construction andhave a generally L-shaped configuration as best seen in FIGURE 4, withthe base 10 supported on spaced wheel carriages or trucks 11 and 12.Each carriage 11 and 12 has two wheels 13 which ride on rails 14 securedto the ships deck structure. In addition each carriage 11 and 12 on thestarboard leg (FIG- URE 4) has a pair of opposed horizontal rollers 15spaced on opposite sides of the rails 14 and adapted to engage siderails 16. These horizontal rollers 15 are adapted to carry lateralloads. Connected to the base 10 of each gantry leg E between the trucks11 and 12 is a drive unit 17 which is pendulously supported from thebase by a parallelogram type support in the manner described in US.patent application Serial No. 572,052. Each drive unit 17 has a verticalpropeller shaft with a drive sprocket 19 at its lower end, the sprocketbeing adapted to engage a fixed roller chain or pin rack 20 attached tothe outside of each rail support 14. This arrangement serves to propelthe crane A along the rails 14 to a desired operating or storageposition.

Outboard cantilevers As indicated above the crane A is provided with twooutboard cantilevers G located on opposite sides of the single maingirder F, which are folded down when the ship is underway and which areconnected to the main girder F by means of a horizontal hinge pin at thebottom edge of the abutting ends. When the cantilevers G are extended asshown in sold lines in FIGURE 1 with respect to the left hand cantileverthey are secured to the main girder F by means of a horizontal latchingmechanism 26 (FIGURE 10). The latching mechanism 26 includes latchplates 27 extending rearwardly from each of the outboard cantilevers G,each plate 27 having openings cut therein to receive latch bolts 28located in a bolt housing within the main girder F and operated byopposed pistons 29 in hydraulic cylinder 30. Normally the bolts areretracted until the adjacent cantilever G is moved to its extendedhorizontal position with the latch plates 27 aligned with the bolts, andthen the pistons are forced outwardly to move the bolts through theholes in the latch plates 27 and lock the cantilever G securely inposition.

Each cantilever G is moved between its folded position and its extendedposition by means of a hydraulic cylinder 31 pivotally connected at oneend to a mount 32 located on the adjacent leg E of the gantry crane A.The piston rod 33 extending from the cylinder 31 is pivotally connectedat its outer end to the lower portion of the outboard cantilever G. Itwill be seen that in the folded position the cantilevers G are eachsecured to the adjacent gantry leg E by means of a latch plate 34located near the bottom of each cantilever. A suitable manual orhydraulic latching means such as a means similar to the latch mechanism25 may be used to secure the plates 34- to the adjacent leg E.

In order to help secure the crane during roll in heavy seas, the ship isprovided with a securing station for the crane A. At this station eachside of the ships deck is provided with two upwardly extending latchplates or pedestals 37 which receive the corresponding outboardcantilever G therebetween whereby holes in the latch plates 37 and inthe plate structure of the cantilever may be aligned and a bolt passedtherethrough to latch the crane securely to the deck structure. In thisposition a rigid triangulation is provided whereby loads experienced bythe crane while at sea are transmitted to the ship. This relievesstresses on the rails 14 which might otherwise cause damage either tothe rails or to the trucks 11 and 12 and wheels 13 of the crane.

Side-running trolley The side-running trolley H consists of a rigidframe 40 which supports the trolley drive mechanism and which travels onan inclined rail 41 located on top of the main girder F and a secondaryrail 42 located at the bottom edge of the main girder F. In like mannerthe trolley H travels on corresponding inclined rails 43 and secondaryrails 44 on the cantilevers G, the rails 43 and 44 being aligned withthe rails 41 and 42 respectively when the cantilevers are in theirextended positions. The angle of the inclined rails 41 and 43 is suchthat forces due to th weight of the trolley and the load carried therebyare transferred normal to the bearing face of the rail to minimize anytendency of the trolley to slip off of the rail.

The trolley moves along the inclined rails 41 and 43 on two inclinedrollers 45 and along the secondary rails 42 and 44 on two side-runningrollers 46, each of the rollers 46 being located on one of twodownwardly extending legs 47 of the rigid frame 40. The inclined rails41 and 43 are mounted on a sloping platform 49 welded to the edge of thegirder F and cantilevers G.

As a secondary precaution the trolley is provided with lateral guiderollers 48 which engage the side edges of the inclined rails 41 and 43best shown in FIGURES l1 and 12. These rollers 48 serve to keep theinclined rollers 45 properly positioned on the rails 41 and 43 and alsotake up any axial loads which may occur.

The trolley H is driven along the girder F and cantilevers G by means ofa pinion 50 which engages a fixed gear rack 51 secured to a verticalmounting strip 52 welded to the top of the girder F and cantilevers G.The roller chain or pin rack 51 extends the entire length of both themain girder F and cantilevers G as best shown in FIGURE 1. The sprocket50 is driven through a gear reduction unit 53 mounted on the rigid frame40, and the drive is supplied by an electric motor 54 as best seen inFIGURE 12. An electromagnetic hydraulic brake unit 56 is interposedbetween the motor 54 and gear reduction unit 53 to provide braking forthe drive when desired and to provide a positive lock which holds thetrolley at a desired position and prevents it from rolling uncontrolledalong the rails under varying conditions of lateral trim.

An operators cab 59 is mounted on the fixed frame 40 on the left handside of the trolley H as viewed in FIGURES 1, 2 and 6, the cab being sodesigned and located as to give the operator optimum visibilitythroughout the loading and unloading cycles of the crane A.

A turntable 60 is supported by outwardly extending arms 61 of the rigidframe 40 on ball bearing units '62 (FIGURE 3) the ball bearing unitsincluding a fixed slewing ring 63 bolted to the arms 61 and a rotatingbearing ring 64 bolted to the bottom of turntable 60. The slewing ring63 has external gear teeth 65 formed therein which are engaged by apinion 66 mounted on a vertical shaft 67. The shaft 67 is driven by theturntable motor 68 through a gear reduction unitl 69 (FIG- URE 2).

In the illustrated embodiment the turntable 60 can be rotated at least atotal of 220 or 110 in either direction from the centerline of the frame40 of the trolley H. The mid position of the turntable '60 isillustrated in FIGURES 5, 6 and 7, wherein the cargo container B beingcarried is located with its longitudinal centerline aligned with thelongitudinal centerline of the ship. FIG- URES 2 and 4 show theturntable 60 in solid lines rotated 90 counter clockwise as viewed fromabove, wherein the longitudinal centerline of a cargo container B beingcarried is parallel to the main girder F. Overtravel is prevented bymechanical stops. The turntable 60 carries the hoist mechanism thatincludes two rope drums 70 driven simultaneously through a transmissionunit 71 by an electric motor 72.

Each drum 70 winds two hoist ropes 73 wound in opposite directions sothat each pair of ropes 73 moves simultaneously during turning of thedrums. The ropes 73 extend downwardly through a hollow cylinder 74having vertical reinforcing ribs 75 welded therein, to a lower frame 76that serves as a support for eight pulleys, two pulleys 77 and 78, foreach rope 84.

The ropes 73 are reeved through the pulleys 77 and 78 as shown inFIGURES 5 and 6 so as to spread them radially outward from alignmentwith their point of vertical suspension from the rope drums 70.

A latch frame or spreader 80 is suspended by the ropes 73 in such amanner that the swinging of the load and latch frame 80 and thecontainer B being carried is reduced to a practical minimum. While alatch frame or spreader 80 for a 20' x 8' type container is shown anddescribed, 40 containers may also be used with the equipment provided alarger latch frame is substituted.

The ropes 73 are connected to the latch frame or spreader 80 by means ofpulleys 81 mounted in forks 82 which are pivotally connected to theframe 80 by pivot pins 83. With this arrangement the pulleys 81 arealigned with their axes perpendicular to their correspond ing rope fallduring the entire vertical range of travel of the latch frame 80. Thelatch frame or spreader 80 is of conventional design and construction,and forms no part of the invention. Various types of standard latchframes may be used depending, of course, on the size and type ofcontainer being transported. The frames may be quickly changed byremoving the pins 83.

The ropes 73 pass through the pulleys 81 and then extent diagonally backup to the lower frame 76 as best shown in FIGURE 6. With thisarrangement the container can be turned by the turntable with a minimumof twisting of the container and latch frame about vertical axis andrelative to each other even though the container B is supported wellbelow the lower frame 76.

Operation During the loading of cargo containers B from a dock to thecargo hold of ship or to a location on deck, the crane A is operated asfollows:

Assuming the operation begins with the crane secured at the forwardlimits of its travel on the rails 14 and not raised on jacks, the endsof the cantilevers G are first disconnected from the latch plates 37 onthe ships deck and the outer ends of both outboard cantilevers G aredisconnected from the adjacent gantry leg E. The hydraulic cylinders 31are then operated to raise the cantilevers G to the extended horizontalposition in end-toend alignment with the single main girder F. Finallythe latch mechanisms 26 are operated to lock the cantilevers inoperating position relative to the main girder F with the inclined rails41 and 43 and the secondary rails 42 and 44 aligned respectively withone another. The crane can now be moved longitudinally along the deck ofthe ship on the-rails 14 until it is opposite the containers to beloaded.

In the meantime the trolley H will have been unlocked from its securedseagoing position and the latch frame 80 released from storage. Thecrane operator then operates the drive motor 54 to move the trolley Halong the main girder F and out onto the cantilever G to a position overa cargo container B to be loaded. While the trolley H is moving, theturntable 60 will have been rotated if necessary a sufiicient amount toposition the latch frame 80 in proper alignment with the container B.

When the trolley stops, the hoist motor 72 is operated to turn the ropedrums 70 in a direction to lower the latch frame 80 onto the containerB. After latching is complete the motor 72 is operated in the reversedirection to raise the latch frame 80 and container B up to thecontainer carrying position shown in FIGURES 4 and 5.

When the latch frame 80 is raised to a position about feet below itsupper limit or traversing position, the turntable motor 68 may beoperated if necessary to position the container B with its longitudinalaxis aligned parallel with the main girder F to assure proper clearancebetween the container B and the gantry legs. This is not necessaryhowever in the case of x 8 containers (FIGURE 4). The trolley H is thenmoved along the cantilever G and main girder F while carrying thecontainer B at a sufiicient height to clear obstructions on deck such asbarges or other containers. When the trolley completes its travel acrossthe main girder F, the crane A may be propelled along the rails 14 ifnecessary to position the container B over its storage location. At thesame time the turntable motor 68 may be operated to turn the container90 if it is tobe stored longitudinally of the ship. Finally, the hoistdrum motor 72 is operated to lower the container B into position afterwhich the latch frame is released and the frame raised again to itshighest carrying position.

For unloading the cargo containers the operation is just the reversewith variations to suit the circumstances. After loading or unloading iscomplete the crane A is moved to the stowage position. The latchmechanisms 26 are then released and the cantilever G lowered using thecylinders 31, to the folded position where they are secured to theadjacent legs E of the crane A in the manner described. The lower end ofeach centilever G is secured to the corresponding latch plate 37 on theships deck. In this manner the crane is very securely latched in placewhile the ship is underway.

The trolley H is also secured midway between the ends of the single maingirder F and latched in place utilizing the machanism provided. Ifdesired the crane A may be jacked up to relieve the load on the wheelbearings, and spacers inserted between the rails 14 and the trucks 11and 12. The spacers are of course removed again while the crane is beingmade ready for operation.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to aspecific embodiment thereof, this is intended for the purpose ofillustration rather than limitation and variations and modificationswill become apparent to those skilled in the art within the intendedspirit and scope of the invention as herein specifically illustrated anddescribed. Therefore the patent is not to be limited in scope and effectto the preferred from shown herein nor in any other way that isinconsistent with the extent to which progress in the art has beenadvanced by the invention.

We claim:

1. A gantry crane adapted for travel on spaced parallel rails on thedeck of a ship for loading and unloading cargo, comprising a singletransverse main girder span ning the cargo hatches of the ship, at leastone hinged cantilever pivotally connected to an end of said main girderand movable between a folded position alongside one of the gantry legsand an extended horizontal outboard position aligned end-to-end withsaid main girder, a trolley car adapted for travel laterally of saidship along said main girder and said extended cantilever, said trolleycar being supported at the side of said main girder and said cantileverto bear against said main girder and said centilever along lines offorce which apply a torsional load thereto, a turntable mounted forrotary movement on said trolley car and hoist mechanism carried by saidturntable, at a height essentially above the lowermost surface of saidmain girder.

2. A gantry crane as defined in claim 1 wherein said turntable includesan upper platform which rests on said trolley, a lower frame spacedbelow said trolley car, a central support connecting said lower frame tosaid upper platform, inner pulleys centrally located on said lower frameand adapted to receive hoist ropes of said hoist mechanism from saidupper platform, outer pulleys mounted at the outer perimeter of saidlower frame and adapted to receive said hoist ropes from said innerpulleys and a latch frame suspended below said lower frame by said hoistropes.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said latch frame is providedwith perimetrically spaced pulleys, each of which receives one of saidhoist ropes, said pulleys having supporting forks pivotally connected tosaid latch frame for movement about an axis perpendicular to the axis oftheir respective pulley and wherein each hoist rope is reeved throughone of said latch frame pulleys and extends back upward to a connectionpoint on said lower frame to define a triangle formed by its outerpulley on said lower frame, its pivotally mounted pulley on said latchframe and said connection point.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said forks of said latchframe pulleys are connected to said latch frame by removable pivot pins.

9 10 5. A gantry crane as defined in claim 1 in combination ReferencesCited with a container ship having two latching mechanisms on UNITEDSTATES PATENTS the deck structure thereof, one on each side of said shipoutwardly of the adjacent rail, said gantry crane including 1,670,7335/1928 Moor? 212*18 XR two of said hinged cantilevers pivotallyconnected to the 5 3,042,227 7/1962 Tantlmger 214.45 3,051,321 8/1962Ramsden 212-14 opposite ends of said main girder and means on saidcantilevers and said respective gantry legs for latching saidcantilevers when in their folded position to said gantry legs, andlatching mechanisms on the outer ends GERALD FORLENZA Pnmary Exammer ofsaid cantilevers, co-operable with said latching mech- 10 FRANK E.WERNER, Assistant Examiner anisms on said deck structure to provide arigid triangulation for securing said crane to said deck structure at aUS. Cl. X.R.

latching position on said ship. 212-15 3,254,775 6/1966 Bevard et a1.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent NO. 3 ,467,263 Dated September 16 1969 Raimunds-Auzins et a1. Inventor(s) It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the heading to the printed specification, lines 5 and 6, assignors toMorgan Engineering Company, Alliance, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio"should read assignors to United Industrial Syndicate, Inc. doingbusiness as Morgan Engineering Company, Alliance, Ohio, a corporation ofNew York Signed and sealed this 1st day of June 1971.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR.

WILLIAM E. SCH Y ER, JR. Attestlng Officer Commissioner 0% l atents FORMPO-1050 (10-69) USCOMM-DC B0376-F'69 u.s. GOVERNIIIIIT nmmus ornct l9"o-su-su

